Water Resilient Cities: Increasing urban resilience to climate change through improved storm water management

The project aims at improving the adaptive capacity of cities to heavy rainfall by demonstrating how SUDS can be retrofitted in public areas normally constrained by existing uses and infrastructure (above or below ground), or "historic environment" protection. The project will demonstrate reduced flooding while protecting or improving amenities, biodiversity, health and wellbeing, local economies and saving public money. The adoption of these approaches will increase adaptation capacity to effects of heavy rainfall and deliver added societal benefits.Increased resilience of cities to the effects of climate change by adoption of strategic SUDS, including nature based solutions. This results in 30000m3 extra buffer capacity, protecting 250ha of urban area from flood risk.
This leads to public savings by providing city­wide flood protection and reducing flood damage costs.
By engaging 30 SMEs and dissemination we will further enlarge buffer capacity and protected area in 2 Seas cities beyond the project sites (50 cities reached).The projects main outputs will be:
1. demonstrations that develop, test and implement transferable design principles for tailor made SUDS solutions and nature based products.
2. a guide to retrofitting strategic SUDS in constrained public spaces and how to deliver added societal benefits.
3. A collaborative network and Public/SME procurement partnerships to stimulate innovation for SUDS.
Public authorities and professionals responsible for drainage, citizens and businesses protected from flooding are the main beneficiaries. SMEs will benefit from better collaboration and information.